What Could Go Wrong?

When I first bought my mare, Fire Foot MR5, as a two-year-old, getting on her back was the farthest thing from my mind. In fact, she actually stayed at the breeders for several months to continue to grow up and enjoy being a "kid." Even when I brought Fire home last May, the prospect of getting on her was no closer to the forefront of my mind. 

Fast forward about six months and we had successfully negotiated our way through OCD surgery on both hocks and the subsequent recovery and rehab. My plan had been to have someone else get on her first. Admittedly, as I have aged my level of bravery has dissipated, although I like to say it's not that I'm less brave, it’s actually that I'm smarter. So for months I talked myself out of it. I made a million excuses. I was out of shape. I was too old. The last horse I started went really badly. I don't have the skills to do this. I am not good enough. And I said it so many times I was starting to believe it. I found a good friend willing to get on Fire, and started getting her ready to have a rider on her back. One night in the ring after a lunging session, I stood on the mounting block and draped myself across the saddle and she just stood there like a perfect pony. I got out of my brain for a moment and relied on my feel. And it felt as if I could have just gotten on